The collection, which was donated shortly after Gross left the Council in the spring of 1977, provides good documentation on his day-to-day activities serving his constituents and attending meetings, his exchanges with city staff about various issues, and his sponsorship of resolutions in the weekly Council meetings. The papers include correspondence, memoranda, press releases, meeting minutes, and resolutions. The most extensive materials pertain to the bus barn debate, and include not only correspondence and minutes of the Ad Hoc Committee, but architectural proposals and environmental impact statements on proposed sites. As Gross was not nearly as involved with the Legislative Committee (resigning after one year because he did not feel he had sufficient time to devote to it) and the Transportation Commission, these files reflect committee operations more than input from Gross himself.
In addition to a chronological file on the resolutions Gross co-sponsored (including one to change the name of Bassett Street to Ho Chi Minh Trail), the collection contains material on his attempt to get the City Council to provide more protection of tenants through a rental registration and a security deposit ordinance which would have required more accountability by landlords. The Ninth District file on neighborhood groups and institutions provides information on zoning and traffic issues as well as the development of two housing projects in the Triangle area--Bayview and Gay Braxton. Small files on a Madison Gas and Electric Co. rate increase request and on the proposed 1976 city budget illustrate Gross's commitment to opposing higher utility rates and preserving social services for poor people in the face of possible city budget cuts.
Covering only one term of one alderperson on the City Council, this collection provides only a fragmentary glimpse into municipal government in Madison in the mid-1970s. It is more revealing of the orientation and experience of a young activist working for social change during the mayoral administration of Paul Soglin, who was himself initially characterized as a “radical” when he was elected in 1973.
